Polyacrylamide (PAM) is a linear polymer with chemical composition that varies depending on the molecular weight of the polymer. The general formula is (C3H5NO)n. This material is solid at room temperature and has various forms, including glue, latex, white powder, translucent beads, and flakes. It has excellent thermal stability, is completely soluble in water, and the aqueous solution is clear and transparent. However, after long-term storage, the viscosity of the solution may decrease, especially in harsh storage environments.
Cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) is also a linear polymer compound. Because it contains a variety of active groups, it can generate affinity with many substances and form hydrogen bonds. It is mainly used to remove negatively charged colloids and has functions such as turbidity removal, decolorization, adsorption, and bonding. It is suitable for the treatment of wastewater with high organic colloid content in industries such as dyeing, papermaking, food, construction, metallurgy, mineral processing, coal powder, oil fields, aquatic product processing and fermentation, and is especially suitable for the dehydration of urban sewage, urban sludge, papermaking sludge and other industrial sludge.
The ionicity of cationic polyacrylamide is one of the key indicators to measure its quality. It represents the density of charge, that is, the amount of charge carried by the polyacrylamide. The level of ionicity has a significant impact on the tightness of the cotton mass and is also closely related to the treatment effect. Generally speaking, the larger the ionicity and molecular weight of cationic polyacrylamide, the better the quality and the higher the price. However, too high an ionicity does not necessarily mean that the treatment effect is good, because this also depends on the size of the molecular weight.
The ionicity of polyacrylamide currently on the market is between 10 and 16. The ionicity of the product directly affects its treatment effect, but it does not mean that the higher the ionicity, the better the treatment effect. In addition, the density and water content of polyacrylamide flocs with high ionicity will also increase. Therefore, when actually selecting, experiments should be carried out according to the specific application scenario to determine the best type of polyacrylamide.